Conveyer for piling coal



(No Model.)

J. M. DODGE.

OONVEYER FOR FILING- GOAL.

Patented Aug. 20, 1889.

llVl/E/VTOH ATTORNEY W/T/VESSES:

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE DODGE COAL STORAGE COMPANY, OF NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT.

CONVEYER FOR PILING COAL.

SPEGIFTCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 409,604, dated August 20, 1889.

Application filed December 17, 1887. Renewed March 20, 1889. Serial No. 804,051. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, JAMES M. DODGE, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improved Conveyor for Piling Coal; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this application.

My present invention relates to that type of chain conveyer which is used for the purpose of conveying coal, culm, or other material away from a given locality of supply and forming it into piles or heaps of considerable magnitude, a sample or instance of which type of conveyer is shown and described in another application for Letters Patent by me, numbered 250,316.

As is well known, in this species of conveyer apparatus, especially when made of such proportions as are necessary for the handling of large quantities of material and for the heaping up of the latter into piles of considerable magnitude, there is always a very long and very heavy lower run to the endless conveyer-chain, to sustain the gravity of which and to keep which in a sufficientlytaut condition for successful operation not only requires great strength in the chain and its connections, but also renders necessary a tremendous draft strain or pull on the conveyer, with a proportionately large expenditure of motive power in the running of the machine or apparatus. I propose to overcome in a very great degree this-objectionable peculiarity of all conveyers of the type alluded to as they have heretofore been constructed, and provide for use an apparatus of this species in which less draft-power is requisite for the performance of a given amount of work, and in which at the same time the chain and other parts of the conveyer are subjected to less strain; and to these main ends and objects my present invention maybe said to consist, essentially, in the combination, with the lowerrun of the conveyerchain, of a supporting or sustaining device which is suspended by suitable ineans in a manner to be adjustable lengthwise of the chain, and which affords a surface on which rest and alongover which travel the working-edges of the depending flights of said lower run of chain, all as will be hereinafter more fully explained, and as will be more particularly pointed out and specifically defined in the claims of this specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice my said invention, I will now proceed to more fully describe it, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which I have shown my improvement carried into effect in that precise form of coal-conveyer in which I have so far practically used it, though it may of course be carried out under various modifications.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a chain conveyer adapted to take coal or cuhn from a given locality of deposit (from the dumping-cars of an elevated railroad) and convey it away, forming it into a heap or pile of considerable magnitude. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the same at the line 00 a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial top view of the same, showing only one of the chain-supporting guide boxes or tubes. Figdis apartial vertical central section through said one of the tubes, on an enlarged scale, and showing an endless carrier on which the flights of the conveyer chain ride while traveling through the said supporting-tube.

In the several figures'the same part will be found always designated by the same letter of reference.

A is the obliquely-arranged or ascending run of the chain conveyer, and B a nearly horizontal runforming an extension for building out the pile, the ascending portion of the conveyer running, as usual, from a drivewheel C, the shaft of which is mounted in the lower part of the trestle-work a of the railroad I) up to the elevated chain-wheelD, that has its shaft properly supported by the pole or frame E, all as clearly shown. The nearly or quite horizontal extension B of the chain conveyer runs, as usual, from the vicinity of the wheel D to and around a wheel 0, the shaft of which is supported by or mounted on another pole F, which (as well as the pole E) is maintained in an erect position by suitable guys or cables (1, all as fully illustrated.

I have indicated at Fig. l by full lines at e the first-formed portion of the pile of material and by the dotted lines at f the boundary of the pile enlarged.

G and H are similar]y-constructed chainsupport-ing devices, that, as shown, are arranged, respectively, in connection with the lower runof the ascending portion A and with the lower run of the horizontal portion B of the chain conveyer, in a manner and for a purpose to be presently explained. As these devices G and H are substantial duplicates in structure, a description of that one marked H will suffice to convey a correct idea of the construction of both of them. This device, as will be clearly seen by reference to the drawings, is in form a tube of rectangular form in cross-section, and of a size in cross-section such as to easily accommodate the rectangular flights g of the conveyer that have to travel or pass bodily through said tube.

"i are upwardlyprojecting arms or suspend er-rods, that are provided, preferably at the upper ends, with anti friction wheels or sheaves j, which rest and ride on a cable tramway I, from which the device H is thus suspended and supported. From each end of H extends an endless cord or rope is, by means of which the said device H may be moved in either direction and then secured in place endwise or lengthwise of the conveyer-ohain B, and by means of the holdfast cables or guys Z, extending obliquely down from the opposite ends of the cross-bar m of the device H to suitable anchorages at the surface of the ground, the said device H may be held rigidly in place against any tendency to swing or shift laterally to any slight extent during the running of the conveyer. The means or devices for thus holding the device H in place laterally are not, however, indispensable, and therefore are not important parts of the improved apparatus made the subject of this application.

To facilitate the passage of the conveyer through the tubular device H, which, as already explained, serves to support the flights g and the chain from which they depend, I provide said sustaining device H with an endless carrier device 0, which is mounted on and runs around or over two pulleys or wheels 19 p (see Fig. 4:) in such a manner as to carry the supported flights and their chain through the device H without any undue frictional impediment. I prefer to have the endless carrier 0 made in the form of an ordinary chain belt with depressions or seats for the reception or accommodation of the lower (or working) edges of the flights g; but the details of structure of this endless carrier 0 may of course be varied without departing from the spirit of my present invention, and so far as may concern the main part of said invention it is not essential that the tubular" device have any carrier device. The lower edges of the flights may rest on the upper surface of the bottom of said device, which latter should have its open ends somewhat flared to insure the easy entrance of the flights.

In the use or operation of my improved contrivance when made precisely as shown the lower run of the obliquely-arranged portion A of the conveyer takes the coal or other material dumped at the vicinity of the base of the trestle-work a, (from cars that travel onthe track 1),) and, carrying it off as fast as supplied, builds it up into an oblong heap or pile in the manner now well known and after the fashion shown at e, where I have illustrated the initial portion of a'pile just being built up; but instead of the lower run of this portion A of the chain conveyer being supported, as usual, at the points only where the wheels 0 and D are located (so that great draft-strain on the chain is necessary to keep the latter sufficiently taut) the lower run of the chain rests upon and is sup: ported by the floor (or the endless carrier 0) of the device G, the said chain-sustainingdcvice G being in turn supported by the cable tramway I, from which it depends, as hereinbefore explained. It will be understood of course that this supporting device G, with its carrier attachments, is adjusted to or set in the first place at a point midway between the two chain-wheels O and D, so as to sustain the lower run of the conveyer-chain at about the middle of its length, and that as the accumulation of coal or other material increases, as indicated by the initial pile at c, this sustaining device G is periodically or frequently moved or adjusted by pulling up 011 the re taining cord or cable 8, and then making fast said cord, so as to always havesaid tube substantially midway between the upper chainwheel D and that point at which the lower portion of the lower run of the conveyor-chain moves or runs out of contact with the top surface of the pile of material being formed or accumulated. In this manner by adjusting the said supporting device G (on its suspendin g cable tramway I) with sufficient frequency for all practical purposes the lower run of the conveyer-chain always has its gravity properly supported at a point about midway between the support afforded by the chainwheel I) at the upper end of the double run of chain and the top surface of the pile of material at the points where the said lower run of chain and its flights ceases to be supported by the material being operated upon. Of course after the pile a shall have been built out considerably, and so as to have its highermost and outermost point nearly ap preach the locality of the chain-wheel D, then the supporting device G becomes practically useless. After this point shall have been passed and the farther end of the pile or heap begins to assume about the position or condition indicated by the dotted line ff, then the nearly or quite horizontal double run of conveyer-chain at B comes into play or operation, and the suspended device H is then utilized in the manner similar to that described of G for the purpose of properly supporting the gravity of the lower run of the portion B of the chain conveyer, and in like manner this supporting device H is then periodically adjusted in substantially the same manner as already explained of G, and for substantially the same purpose.

By the use of one or more of such conveyerchain-supporting devices as seen at G and II, and hereinbefore described, I am enabled, it will be understood, to make the double runs of conveyer-chain, both as to the oblique portion and as to the horizontal portion, or as to either one, (where only one portion may be used,) of much greater length than it would be possible to otherwise use such chain conveyors, and hence am enabled to convey away much larger quantities of material and form the latter into heaps of very much greater magnitude Without any hand labor than it has been possible to do heretofore with contrivances constructed substantially after the fashion of that herein shown and described, but not having any such means for supporting the lower run or Working portions of the conveyer-chains.

Having 110W so fully explained the nature and results of my improved conveyer apparatus, and Wishing it to be understood that the chain sustaining device may be used either on an obliquely-ascending chain conveyer or on a horizontal pile-forming con- Veyer, or on both, and that many variations in the mere details of the structure shown either to form into a heap or pile coal or other material supplied to the lower end or portion of said chain conveyer, or to remove the pile of material, an adjustable chain-supporting device arranged in connection with the lower run of the flighted chain and adapted, as specified, to support the gravity of the chain and its flights at various points intermediate of the points at which the end portions of the conveyerchain are permanently supported by the usual sprocket-wheels, all in substantially the manner and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination, with a chain and its flights, of a tubular or centrally-open adjustable supporting or sustaining device arranged in connection with the lower run or portion of said fiighted chain, and provided, as specitied, With suitable means for facilitating the travel through it and along over the upper surface of its bottom or lower side of the attached flights of the chain without undue friction, all as hereinbefore fully set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 23d day of November, 1887'.

JAMES M. DODGE.

In presence of GEO. M. BAKER, A. J. B. BERGER. 

